PULSE [H.S]

087

"In the face of a common enemy, differences between adversaries tend to melt away." — Nelson Mandela

Everyone's going to kill me.

I think this is the night that I die.

I asked everyone to meet me at Inkling tonight after the shop closed. They've been slowly trickling in and making themselves comfortable on the couches. The sound of their chatter helps calm my nerves.

When everyone's here and the shop is closed, I take a seat on the couch next to Zayn, who is the first one to question me about what's going on here.

He asks, "What's this about, Kiz?"

"Maybe she wanted to have a reunion party," Niall says, and then he adds, "Ya know? We're getting the band back together."

Clove says, "Yeah, that's why she looks like she's about to shit herself."

"That was uncalled for," I say to Clove, even though she's not wrong. My stomach does feel uneasy. "So," I say with a slightly shaky voice, "you're all going to be really mad at me, but I need you to think of the outcome and not how we got there."

"What?" Zayn looks at me like I'm crazy.

Niall says, "You're making me nervous, Kiz."

Harry looks straight at me and says, "What did you do?"

I take a breath and try to get my heart rate back down. It's skyrocketing, mostly because I have no idea how this meeting is about to go. The only thing I know is that they're all going to kill me, regardless of the outcome.

I say, "Just don't shoot him, okay? Please?"

"Shoot who?" Harry asks, his voice frighteningly low.

Clove says, "Well, now I'm fucking scared."

The bell rings as the door to the tattoo shop opens.

Everyone's heads dart towards the entrance, and in less than a second, everyone is on their feet. They all pull out their guns, pointing them right at Lucas as he stands in front of the door.

I huff, "I said no shooting."

Nobody moves, and it's dead silent as everyone stares at him. I leave my spot on the couch, positioning myself between them and Lucas. I don't want anyone to die tonight.

Lucas reached out to me a few days ago, saying that he wants to work with us to take Elias down. I wasn't sure if he was being serious or not until he told me all of the details about some of Elias's plans.

Harry growls, "Kizalyn, move, or I swear to God—"

"He's on our side, alright?" I say, cutting him off, which makes him even more pissed. I say, "Put the guns down, and we can all talk. He's not here to hurt anyone."

Nobody moves.

Harry growls again, "Why is he here?"

I say louder and with a more convincing voice, "We'll explain everything, put the guns away and sit the fuck down. Now."

It takes them a moment as they all look at one another with headstand expressions on their faces, but they listen this time. They lower their guns, but keep them in their hands as they sit down.

Lucas laughs from behind me. "She sure knows how to get people to listen to her, huh?"

Nobody else laughs, and I glare at him as we both join the group. I take my seat by Zayn again, and Lucas pulls up a stool. Everyone looks so confused and angry. Mostly angry, and it's mostly directed at me.